
Competition for technical assistance systems: CYBATHLON
For a championship driving research on assistive technologies for everyday use
Using an exoskeleton to get up from the sofa or a prosthetic arm to hang laundry – assistance technologies have the potential to make the lives of people with physical disabilities significantly easier. Today, however, these systems often still lack functions suitable for everyday use.
Boosting research on assistive
technologies
Around 15% of the world’s population lives with a disability and often faces obstacles in their daily lives. Although technological assistance systems now help to overcome physical and mental barriers, the use of such systems is often cumbersome and difficult for various reasons. In many cases, these aids are not based on the needs of the users, and high production costs or prices often make it impossible for those affected to acquire the assistance systems.
Shaken up by these observations, Professor Robert Riener from the Sensory-Motor Systems Lab at ETH Zurich initiated the non-profit project CYBATHLON in 2013. He believed that a competition would be the best driver to advance the development of new technical assistance systems for people with disabilities and to raise public awareness of the problems faced by people with disabilities in everyday life.
Today, CYBATHLON is more than a competition and sees itself as a platform that challenges development teams around the world to develop assistance technologies suitable for everyday use with and for people with disabilities.
The overwhelming response to the CYBATHLON 2016 in Zurich and the CYBATHLON 2020 Global Edition inspired the more comprehensive ETH Rehab Initiative, with the aim to enable people with disabilities to participate fully in society and improve their quality of life.
Our goal
The CYBATHLON is designed to stimulate further research on assistive technologies and a closer dialogue between users, researchers and the general public on topics such as rehabilitation and accessibility. As a platform, CYBATHLON connects society, research and development and people with disabilities in an emotional, positive and unique way. The aim is to constantly analyse what exists and create new, forward-looking event formats and projects – for a world without barriers.
Your support enables
- research on user-centric assistive technologies for people with physical disabilities
- an increased public awareness of the needs of the people concerned
CBATHLON –
for a world without barriers

Your contact
Dr Markus Gut
+41 44 633 69 55
Email